| Kit Malthouse AM | |
|---|---|
| Member of the London Assembly for West Central |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 May 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Angie Bray |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 October 1966 Liverpool |
| Nationality | English |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Juliana Farha |
| Children | 3 |
| Profession | Chartered accountant |
| Website | www.kitmalthouse.com |
Christopher Laurie Malthouse, known as Kit Malthouse (born 27 October 1966) is Deputy Mayor of London with responsibility for the Metropolitan Police. A politician, businessman and occasional writer, he is a Conservative and a member of the London Assembly representing the West Central constituency, which encompasses the City of Westminster, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. He is also Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority.
A former city councillor and Deputy Leader of Westminster City Council, London he is a member of the Conservative Party. Malthouse is also a director of Alpha Strategic PLC,[1] a fund of hedge funds listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. He has contributed on a number of occasions to The Times and is married to Juliana Farha.
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Malthouse was born in the Aigburth area of Liverpool, and educated at Sudley County Primary and Liverpool College. He studied Politics and Economics at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. On graduation he moved to London.
Malthouse trained to be a chartered accountant at Touche Ross & Company (now Deloittes), qualifying in 2004. He then left and worked as Finance Director of the Cannock Group. He led the management buyout of the part of that group called County Holdings and is now chairman of the company. In 2006, he was a founder director of Alpha Strategic PLC where he also remains as a director.
Malthouse was elected to the council in May 1998, representing St George's ward in the Pimlico area of central London. Following boundary changes he was re-elected in May 2002 for Warwick ward, also in Pimlico.
Within his first twelve months as a councillor, Malthouse was appointed as Chief Whip of the Conservative Group, and shortly thereafter, following a change of leader to Sir Simon Milton, he was appointed Chairman of the Social Services Committee. Two years later he was elected Deputy Leader of the Council and became Cabinet Member for Finance.
Malthouse has campaigned for laws to outlaw the use of telephone booths by prostitutes to advertise their services. He states that this practice is detrimental towards the appearance of the city and disturbing for residents and families, and that this advertising fuels gang controlled prostitution and the trafficking of women across Europe. Malthouse also publicised the use of mobile phones for soliciting prostitution. Following this action, three mobile phone companies started barring numbers, possibly in response to the resulting negative publicity.
Malthouse challenged the results of the 2001 population census, which he said seriously underestimated the population of the City of Westminster. Following a two year battle with the Office for National Statistics, the City of Westminster population was revised upwards by 10%. and a review of future census methodology was commissioned[2]
Malthouse argued against the introduction of the London congestion charge, opposing it on the grounds that the idea should not be first introduced in the most populous city in England,[3] and that London was already one of the most expensive cities to live in in the world.[4] He also suggested that the purpose of the scheme was to address Transport for London's budgetary shortfall.[5]
As Deputy Leader of Westminster Council, Malthouse was responsible for agreeing to a £12.3 million settlement with Shirley Porter over the £27 million surcharge, eventually raising to £42 million in costs and interest, imposed on her as a result of the Homes for Votes gerrymandering fraud scandal.[6] Porter then fled to Israel to avoid paying the settlement, but then eventually paid the settlement in 2004.
He retired from Westminster City Council at the May 2006 local elections.[7]
On 26 March 2007, he was selected as the Conservative candidate for the London Assembly seat of West Central. The Assembly elections took place on 1 May 2008, and Malthouse received 53% of the vote.[8]
Malthouse was appointed Deputy Mayor of London, Policing by London Mayor Boris Johnson with effect from 6 May 2008.[9] In October 2008 he was appointed Vice Chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority by the Mayor.
Malthouse is a member of the board of the Association of Police Authorities and the London Regional Resilience Forum. He also sits on the Ministerial Steering Group of the London Criminal Justice Partnership.
In October 2009 Malthouse was involved in the events leading to the resignation of Sir Ian Blair, then Metropolitan Police Commissioner. During his first few months in office he was also responsible for a wholesale change of the members of the Police Authority and a restructure of the organisation. Malthouse has introduced Met Forward, the Authority’s strategic mission for London’s police.[10] Alongside the Mayor of London and the then Deputy Commissioner of Metropolitan Police, Malthouse released ‘Time for Action’ on 3 November 2008 in response to escalating concerns about youth violence in London.[11]
Malthouse has campaigned against dangerous dogs across London.[12] He hosted a citywide summit in November 2009 to raise the profile of weapons and dangerous dogs as a serious issue in London. He has also campaigned for changes to the dangerous dogs legislation to introduce tougher punishments and is working with the CPS to reduce the long delays in the court process to reduce the kennelling costs.[13]
Malthouse continues to campaign against the presence of prostitution cards in telephone kiosks across London. He has also been involved in the 2010 programme 'The Way Forward - a plan for London to tackle violence against women and girls'.[14] One of the key goals of The Way Forward is to quadruple Rape Crisis provision in the capital.
Malthouse is Chairman of the London Hydrogen Partnership.
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